Carrier device

ABSTRACT

There is provided a carrier device that has a linkage arm mechanism, in particular, a carrier device that cools the linkage arm mechanism and can reduce the impact of radiation heat from a work that is in a high temperature state. A carrier device is a carrier device that includes a linkage arm mechanism and a pivot shaft, and the linkage arm mechanism includes lower arms and upper arms, and one ends of which are respectively connected to the lower arms, and horizontal movement members that support a work that is connected to the other ends of the upper arms, and cooling plates are respectively arranged between the upper arms, and the horizontal movement members.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a divisional application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/884,117, filed on Jul. 26, 2013, the entirecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference and priority towhich is hereby claimed. Application Ser. No. 13/884,117 is the U.S.national stage of application No. PCT/JP2011/075312, filed on Nov. 2,2011. Priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) and 35 U.S.C. §365(b) is claimedfrom Japanese Application No. 2010-249606, filed 8 Nov. 2010, thedisclosure of which is also incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a technology of a carrier device thatcarries a substrate in a vacuum space.

BACKGROUND ART

Conventionally, the carrier device is known that carries a work such asa substrate in a vacuum space (for example, see patent document 1). Thecarrier device includes a linkage arm mechanism that horizontally movesthe work in the vacuum space.

In addition, the radiation heat is conveyed to a peripheral member ofthe work because the work that is carried by the carrier device is in ahigh temperature state. Therefore, the carrier device is known thatincludes a rail mechanism and in which a cooling path is provided in aguide rail portion of the rail mechanism that is susceptible to theradiation heat from the work in the high temperature state (for example,see patent document 2).

RELATED ART DOCUMENTS Patent Documents

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application PublicationNo. 2009-153253.

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application PublicationNo. 2010-177411.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

When a work in a high temperature state is carried by the carrier deviceincluding the linkage arm mechanism, in particular, an upper arm and alower arm are susceptible to the impact of the radiation heat from thework. When the upper arm and the lower arm are affected by the radiationheat from the work, portions of the upper arm and the lower arm arethermally expanded, so that the position accuracy and the trajectoryaccuracy are reduced. In addition, due to the impact of the radiationheat, it is probable that portions of the upper arm and the lower armare deteriorated and damaged. In addition, due to the radiation heat,because lubrication oil that has been applied to the portions of theupper arm and the lower arm is dried off, it is probable that theportions of the upper arm and the lower arm are contaminated by thelubrication oil. When each of the upper arm and the lower arm isconstituted by a material for which lubrication oil is not used, thecost increases.

Therefore, in view of the problems, the present invention provides acarrier device that includes a linkage arm mechanism, in particular, acarrier device that can cool the linkage arm mechanism and reduce theimpact of radiation heat from a work in a high temperature state.

Means of Solving the Problems

The problems to be solved of the present invention are as describedabove, and subsequently, means of solving the problems are described.

That is, a carrier device includes a linkage arm mechanism that is usedto carry a work in a vacuum space and a pivot shaft that pivotallysupports the linkage arm mechanism so that the linkage arm mechanism canrotate around a vertical shaft, wherein the linkage arm mechanismcomprises lower arms, upper arms one ends of which are respectivelyconnected to the lower arms, and horizontal movement members thatsupport the work that is connected to the other ends of the upper arms,and cooling plates are respectively provided between the upper arms andthe horizontal movement members a first cooling plate which is fixed soas to be rotated with the rotation of the pivot shaft is providedbetween the upper arms and the horizontal movement members, andseparated from the upper arms and the horizontal movement members andthe first cooling plate comprises a passing groove so as to pass aconnecting means between the upper arms and the horizontal movementmembers when the linkage arm mechanism is moved.

In at least an embodiment, a second cooling plate may be providedbetween the lower arms and the horizontal movement members, andseparated from the lower arms and the horizontal movement members.

In at least an embodiment, the second cooling plate may be fixed so asto be rotated with the rotation of the pivot shaft and the first coolingplate is connected to the second cooling plate.

Effects of the Invention

As effects of the invention, the effects that are described below aredemonstrated.

In at least an embodiment, the upper arm can be cooled by the coolingplate by providing the cooling plate between the upper arm of thelinkage arm mechanism and the work in the high temperature state. Thus,the impact of the radiation heat from the work in the high temperaturestate can be reduced. In addition, the first cooling plate is providedbetween the upper arms and the horizontal movement members, andseparated from the upper arms and the horizontal movement members. Thus,the upper arm can be cooled by the cooling plate.

In at least an embodiment, the second cooling plate is provided betweenthe lower arms and the horizontal movement members, and separated fromthe lower arms and the horizontal movement members. Thus, the lower armcan be cooled by the cooling plate.

In at least an embodiment, even when the pivot shaft is rotated, theupper arm and the lower arm can be cooled by the cooling plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a left front perspective view of a carrier device according toan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a right front perspective view of the carrier device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the carrier device.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the carrier device.

FIG. 5 is a left side view of the carrier device.

FIG. 6A is a plan view of a left cooling plate and FIG. 6B is across-sectional view of an A-A line.

FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view of an A-A line of a left cooling plateaccording to another embodiment and FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view ofan A-A line of a left cooling plate according to another embodiment.

FIG. 8A is a plan view of a right cooling plate and FIG. 8B is across-sectional view of a B-B line.

FIG. 9 is a left front perspective view of a carrier device according toa second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a front view of the carrier device according to the secondembodiment.

FIG. 11 is a left side view of the carrier device according to thesecond embodiment.

FIG. 12A is a plan view of a lower side cooling plate and FIG. 12B is across-sectional view of a C-C line.

FIG. 13 is a front view of a carrier device according to a thirdembodiment.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of a D-D line of a pivot shaft coolingplate.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The embodiments of the present invention are described below.

First, the general arrangement of a carrier device 100 is described withreference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 5. It is noted that, in FIG. 1, an arrow Adirection is set as a front direction, and directions that are indicatedby arrow directions of FIG. 1 are respectively set as a back-and-forthdirection, a left- and right direction, and an up-and-down direction.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 to FIG. 5, the carrier device 100 includes alinkage arm mechanism 2 that is used to carry a work 200 in a vacuumspace, and a pivot shaft 3 that pivotally supports the linkage armmechanism 2 so that the linkage arm mechanism 2 can rotate around avertical shaft.

The lower part of the pivot shaft 3 is fixedly installed in a housing 4.In addition, the linkage arm mechanism 2 is provided in the upper partof the pivot shaft 3. A drive unit that is not illustrated is providedinside the pivot shaft 3, and a left lower arm 31L and a right lower arm31R of the linkage arm mechanism 2 are rotated and moved by driving thedrive unit.

In addition, the entire linkage arm mechanism 2 can be rotated aroundthe vertical shaft by rotating the pivot shaft 3. In addition, the pivotshaft 3 can be slid in the up-and-down direction with respect to thehousing 4, and the pivot shaft 3 and the linkage arm mechanism 2 can beslid in the up-and-down direction.

The vacuum space that is used to carry the work 200 is provided above aboundary between the bottom surface of the pivot shaft 3 and the topsurface of the housing.

The linkage arm mechanism 2 is a mechanism that moves the work 200 inthe horizontal direction. In the embodiment, the work 200 is, forexample, a substrate and a liquid crystal panel, and is formed in aplate-shape.

The linkage arm mechanism 2 is constituted by a pivot base 20, left andright linkage arms 21L and 21R, and left and right horizontal movementmembers 22L and 22R. The left linkage arm 21L includes the left lowerarm 31L, a left intermediate linkage 32L, a left upper arm 33L, and aleft horizontal movement member connection part 34L. In addition, theright linkage arm 21R includes the right lower arm 31R, a rightintermediate linkage 32R, a right upper arm 33R, and a right horizontalmovement member connection part 34R. It is noted that the configurationof the left and right linkage arms 21L and 21R is not limited to such acase, and alternatively, the left and right linkage arms 21L and 21R maybe configured so that the left and the right are reversed.

The pivot base 20 is connected to the upper part of the pivot shaft 3.As illustrated in FIG. 4, the pivot shaft 3 includes a bottom plate 41,a left linkage arm rotary shaft part 42, a right linkage arm rotaryshaft part 43, and a front apron part 44.

The bottom plate 41 is a plate-like member, and is connected to thepivot shaft 3 so that relative rotation of the bottom plate 41 cannot beperformed with respect to the pivot shaft 3.

The left linkage arm rotary shaft part 42 is a central part of rotationof the left linkage arm 21L, and includes a drive shaft 42 a and adriven shaft 42 b. A drive shaft of the drive unit that is notillustrated is connected to the drive shaft 42 a. The left lower arm 31Lrotates and moves using the left linkage arm rotary shaft part 42 as thecenter of rotation by rotating the drive shaft 42 a by the drive unit.

The right linkage arm rotary shaft part 43 is a central part of rotationof the right linkage arm 21R, and includes a drive shaft 43 a and adriven shaft 43 b. A drive shaft of the drive unit that is notillustrated is connected to the drive shaft 43 a. The right lower arm31R rotates and moves using the right linkage arm rotary shaft part 43as the center of rotation by rotating the drive shaft 43 b by the driveunit.

The drive shaft 42 a and the drive shaft 43 a are provided on the topsurface of the bottom plate 41. The drive shaft 42 a and the drive shaft43 a are located at positions that are shifted from the rotating shaftof the pivot shaft 3.

In addition, the front apron part 44 is fixedly installed on the frontsurface of the bottom plate 41. The front apron part 44 is a memberhaving an approximately hook-shape in the side view, and the lower endof the front apron part 44 is fixedly installed on the front surface ofthe bottom plate 41. The driven shaft 42 b and a driven shaft 43 a areprovided on the top surface of the front apron part 44.

The configuration of the left linkage arm 21L is described below withreference to FIG. 1, FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5.

The left lower arm 31L is constituted by a first arm member 51L and asecond arm member 52L that are a pair of long plate-like members. Aparallel linkage mechanism is constituted by the left lower arm 31L, theleft linkage arm rotary shaft part 42, and the left intermediate linkage32L.

A base end part of the first arm member 51L is connected to the driveshaft 42 a of the left linkage arm rotary shaft part 42 so that relativerotation of the base end part cannot be performed with respect to thedrive shaft 42 a. In addition, a base end part of the second arm member52L is rotatably connected to the driven shaft 42 b. As a result, theleft lower arm 31L rotates and moves using the left linkage arm rotaryshaft part 42 as the center of rotation.

In addition, the other end part of the first arm member 51L is connectedto an interlocking shaft 32 a that is provided on the left intermediatelinkage 32L so that relative rotation of the other end part cannot beperformed with respect to the interlocking shaft 32 a. The other endpart of the second arm member 52L is rotatably connected to a rotaryshaft 32 b that is provided on the left intermediate linkage 32L.

The left intermediate linkage 32L is a member that connects the leftlower arm 31L and the left upper arm 33L, and rotates the left upper arm33L in conjunction with the movement of the left lower arm 31L. The leftintermediate linkage 32L includes the interlocking shaft 32 a and therotary shafts 32 b and 32 c. An interlocking mechanism that is notillustrated is provided inside the interlocking shaft 32 a.

The left upper arm 33L is constituted by a third arm member 53L and afourth arm member 54L that are a pair of long plate-like members. Aparallel linkage mechanism is constituted by the left upper arm 33L, theleft intermediate linkage 32L, and the left horizontal movement memberconnection part 34L.

A base end part of the third arm member 53L is connected to theinterlocking shaft 32 a of the left intermediate linkage 32L so thatrelative rotation of the base end part cannot be performed with respectto the interlocking shaft 32 a. In addition, a base end part of thefourth arm member 54L is rotatably connected to the rotary shaft 32 c ofthe left intermediate linkage 32L. As a result, the third arm member 53Lis rotated in conjunction with the movement of the first arm member MLthrough an interlocking mechanism that is not illustrated, of theinterlocking shaft 32 a.

In addition, the other end part of the third arm member 53L is connectedto a support shaft 34 a that is provided on the left horizontal movementmember connection part 34L so that relative rotation of the other endpart cannot be performed with respect to the support shaft 34 a. Theother end part of the fourth arm member 54L is rotatably connected to arotary shaft 34 b that is provided on the left horizontal movementmember connection part 34L.

The left horizontal movement member 22L includes a horizontal movementbase 65L and a hook 66L.

The horizontal movement base 65L is a lower part of the support shaft 34a of the left horizontal movement member connection part 34L, and isconnected to the lower side of a third arm member 53R. The horizontalmovement base 65L is formed into a plate shape, and the left and righttwo hooks 66L and 66L are installed on the front end of the horizontalmovement base 65L in a protruding manner.

The hooks 66L and 66L are thin plate-like members, and the work 200 canbe mounted on the top surfaces of the hooks 66L and 66L.

By such a configuration, when the first arm member 51L is rotated arounda vertical shaft of the drive shaft 42 a, the second arm member 52Lrotates so as to keep parallel to the first arm member 51L, so that theleft intermediate linkage 32L horizontally moves on a circle the radiusof which is the first arm member 51L.

In addition, the third arm member 53L rotates so as to keep parallel tothe fourth arm member 54L in conjunction with the movement of the firstarm member 51L, so that the left horizontal movement member connectionpart 34L horizontally moves in the back-and-forth direction.

As described above, the left horizontal movement member 22L can behorizontally moved in the back-and-forth direction by performing alinkage operation to elongate and retract the left lower arm 31L and theleft upper arm 33L.

The configuration of the right linkage arm 21R is described below withreference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 4.

The right lower arm 31R is constituted by a first arm member 51R and asecond arm member 52R that are a pair of long plate-like members. Aparallel linkage mechanism is constituted by the right lower arm 31R,the right linkage arm rotary shaft part 43, and the right intermediatelinkage 32R.

A base end part of the first arm member 51R is connected to the driveshaft 43 a of the right linkage arm rotary shaft part 43 so thatrelative rotation of the base end part cannot be performed with respectto the drive shaft 43 a. In addition, a base end part of the second armmember 52R is rotatably connected to the driven shaft 43 b. As a result,the right lower arm 31R rotates and moves using the right linkage armrotary shaft part 43 as the center of rotation.

In addition, the other end part of the first arm member MR is connectedto the interlocking shaft 32 a that is provided on the rightintermediate linkage 32R so that relative rotation of the other end partcannot be performed with respect to the interlocking shaft 32 a. Theother end part of the second arm member 52R is rotatably connected tothe rotary shaft 32 b that is provided on the right intermediate linkage32R.

The right intermediate linkage 32R is a member that connects the rightlower arm 31R and the right upper arm 33R and rotates the right upperarm 33R in conjunction with the movement of the right lower arm 31R. Theright intermediate linkage 32R includes the interlocking shaft 32 a, andthe rotary shafts 32 b and 32 c. An interlocking mechanism that is notillustrated is provided inside the interlocking shaft 32 a. In addition,the length in the up-and-down direction of the interlocking shaft 32 aof the right intermediate linkage 32R is formed to be shorter than thatof the interlocking shaft 32 a of the left intermediate linkage 32L. Asa result, the right upper arm 33R, the right horizontal movement memberconnection part 34R, and the right horizontal movement member 22R arerespectively located at positions that are lower than the left upper arm33L, the left horizontal movement member connection part 34L, and theleft horizontal movement member 22L.

The right upper arm 33R is constituted by the third arm member 53R and afourth arm member MR that are a pair of long plate-like members. Aparallel linkage mechanism is constituted by the right upper arm 33R,the right intermediate linkage 32R, and the right horizontal movementmember connection part 34R.

A base end part of the third arm member 53R is connected to theinterlocking shaft 32 a of the right intermediate linkage 32R so thatrelative rotation of the base end part cannot be performed with respectto the interlocking shaft 32 a. In addition, a base end part of thefourth arm member MR is rotatably connected to the rotary shaft 32 c ofthe right intermediate linkage 32R. As a result, the third arm member53R is rotated in conjunction with the movement of the first arm member51R through an interlocking mechanism that is not illustrated, of theinterlocking shaft 32 a.

In addition, the other end part of the third arm member 53R is connectedto the support shaft 34 a that is provided on the right horizontalmovement member connection part 34R so that relative rotation of theother end part cannot be performed with respect to the support shaft 34a. The other end part of the fourth arm member 54R is rotatablyconnected to the rotary shaft 34 b that is provided on the righthorizontal movement member connection part 34R.

The right horizontal movement member 22R includes a horizontal movementbase 65R and a hook 66R.

The horizontal movement base 65R is the upper part of the support shaft34 a of the right horizontal movement member connection part 34R, and isconnected to the upper side of the third arm member 53R. The horizontalmovement base 65R is formed into a plate shape, and the left and righttwo hooks 66R and 66R are installed on the front end of the horizontalmovement base 65R in a protruding manner.

The hooks 66R and 66R are thin plate-like members, and the work 200 canbe mounted on the top surfaces of the hooks 66R and 66R.

By such a configuration, when the first arm member 51R is rotated arounda vertical shaft of the drive shaft 43 a, the second arm member 52Rrotates so as to keep parallel to the first arm member 51R, so that theright intermediate linkage 32R horizontally moves on a circle the radiusof which is the first arm member 51R.

In addition, the third arm member 53R rotates so as to keep parallel tothe fourth arm member 54R in conjunction with the movement of the firstarm member 51R, so that the right horizontal movement member connectionpart 34R horizontally moves in the back-and-forth direction.

As described above, the right horizontal movement member 22R can behorizontally moved in the back-and-forth direction by performing alinkage operation to elongate and retract the right lower arm 31R andthe right upper arm 33R.

The positions in the up-and-down direction of the left and righthorizontal movement members 22L and 22R are different, so that the leftand right horizontal movement members 22L and 22R are overlapped at acertain distance without contacting each other.

Cooling plates 25L and 25R according to the embodiment are describedbelow.

The cooling plates 25L and 25R are a left cooling plate 25L and a rightcooling plate 25R that respectively correspond to the left and rightlinkage arms 21L and 21R.

The left cooling plate 25L is a plate-like member and a member having acolor that is easy to absorb heat such as a black color. In addition, asillustrated in FIG. 6, a cooling path 71 is provided on the surface ofthe left cooling plate 25L. The cooling path 71 is fitted into a groovethat is provided on the surface of the left cooling plate 25L. The leftcooling plate 25L is provided so that the cooling path 71 is located onthe top surface of the left cooling plate 25L. The cooling path 71 isbent in a zigzag and provided so as to cool the whole surface of theleft cooling plate 25L. In addition, a cooling medium that flows intothe cooling path 71 includes water, oil, and the like.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 7A, the cooling path 71 may beinstalled on the surface of the left cooling plate 25L by an attachmenttool 72. A filler 73 that is used to increase a heat transfer rate isfilled in a space that is surrounded by the surface of the left coolingplate 25L, the outer peripheral surface of the cooling path 71, and theinner peripheral surface of the attachment tool 72. The cooling path 71and the attachment tool 72 are bent in a zigzag and provided so as tocool the whole surface of the left cooling plate 25L.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 7B, the cooling path 71 may beprovided inside the left cooling plate 25L. The cooling path 71 is bentin a zigzag and provided so as to cool the whole surface of the leftcooling plate 25L.

The left cooling plate 25L is provided below the third arm member 53Land the fourth arm member 54L and provided above the horizontal movementbase 65L. That is, the left cooling plate 25L is provided between thesurface of the left upper arm 33L on the left horizontal movement member22L side and the left horizontal movement member 22L. In addition, theleft cooling plate 25L includes an area that includes all movementranges of the left upper arm 33L in the planar view. In addition, asillustrated in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6, a support shaft passing groove 25 ahaving a width that is a little larger than the radius of the supportshaft 34 a is provided on the front side of the intermediate portion ofthe left cooling plate 25L in the left- and right direction in theplanar view. The support shaft passing groove 25 a is provided in arange in which the movement of the support shaft 34 a in theback-and-forth direction is not interfered when the horizontal movementmember 22L moves in the back-and-forth direction.

In addition, the right cooling plate 25R is a plate-like member, and amember having a color that is easy to absorb heat such as a black color.In addition, the right cooling plate 25R has the same configuration asthe left cooling plate 25L, and as illustrated in FIG. 8, the coolingpath 71 is provided on the surface of the right cooling plate 25R. Theright cooling plate 25R is provided so that the cooling path 71 islocated on the bottom surface of the right cooling plate 25R. Thecooling path 71 is bent in a zigzag and provided so as to cool the wholesurface of the right cooling plate 25R. In addition, a cooling mediumthat flows into the cooling path 71 includes water, oil, and the like.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 7A, the cooling path 71 may beinstalled on the surface of the right cooling plate 25R by theattachment tool 72, similar to the cooling path 71 of the left coolingplate 25L. The filler 73 that is used to increase a heat transfer rateis filled in a space that is surrounded by the surface of the rightcooling plate 25R, the outer peripheral surface of the cooling path 71,and the inner peripheral surface of the attachment tool 72. The coolingpath 71 and the attachment tool 72 are bent in a zigzag and provided soas to cool the whole surface of the right cooling plate 25R.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 7B, the cooling path 71 may beprovided inside the right cooling plate 25R. The cooling path 71 is bentin a zigzag and provided so as to cool the whole surface of the rightcooling plate 25R.

The right cooling plate 25R is provided above the third arm member 53Rand provided below the fourth arm member MR and the horizontal movementbase 65R. That is, the right cooling plate 25R is provided between thesurface of the right upper arm 33R on the right horizontal movementmember 22R side and the right horizontal movement member 22R.

In addition, the right cooling plate 25R includes an area that includesall movement ranges of the right upper arm 33R in the planar view. Inaddition, as illustrated in FIG. 4 and FIG. 8, the support shaft passinggroove 25 a having a width that is a little larger than the radius ofthe support shaft 34 a is provided on the front right side of the rightcooling plate 25R in the left- and right direction in the planar view.The support shaft passing groove 25 a is provided in a range in whichthe movement of the support shaft 34 a in the back-and-forth directionis not interfered when the horizontal movement member 22L moves in theback-and-forth direction.

A supporting method of the right cooling plate 25R and the left coolingplate 25L is described below. As illustrated in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, afirst cooling plate supporting member 75 is provided to project into therear and above from the rear surface of the bottom plate 41 of the pivotbase 20. A second cooling plate supporting members 76 and 76 are twocolumnar members and are provided to project upward from the top surfaceof the front apron part 44. In addition, a third cooling platesupporting member 77 is provided to project upward from the drive shaft42 a of the left linkage arm rotary shaft part 42. The right coolingplate 25R is supported from below by the first cooling plate supportingmember 75, the second cooling plate supporting members 76 and 76, andthe third cooling plate supporting member 77.

In addition, a plurality of left cooling plate supporting members 78,78, 78, and 78 are provided to stand on the left side surface and therear surface of the right cooling plate 25R. The left cooling plate 25Lis fixed on the upper parts of the left cooling plate supporting members78, 78, 78, and 78 and supported from below by the left cooling platesupporting members.

A reflective material 81 is stuck on the bottom surface of the leftcooling plate 25L. That is, the reflective material 81 is stuck on thesurface of the left cooling plate 25L on the left horizontal movementmember 22L side. The reflective material 81 is stuck on the left coolingplate 25L by a plurality of adhesive members 82. The reflective material81 is constituted by a thin metal plate that can reflect the radiationheat from the work 200.

In addition, the reflective material 81 having a similar thin metalplate is stuck on the top surface of the right cooling plate 25R. Thatis, the reflective material 81 is stuck on the surface of the rightcooling plate 25R on the right horizontal movement member 22R side.

Second Embodiment

In addition, in another embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 9 to FIG. 11,a lower side cooling plate 91 is provided on the lower sides of the leftlower arm 31L and the right lower arm 31R. It is noted that theconfiguration of the carrier device 100 except for the lower sidecooling plate 91 is similar to the configuration of the carrier device100 described in the first embodiment, and the description is omitted.

The lower side cooling plate 91 is a plate-like member and a memberhaving a color that is easy to absorb heat such as a black color. Inaddition, the lower side cooling plate 91 is provided on the bottomsurfaces of the left lower arm 31L and the right lower arm 31R. Inaddition, the configuration of the lower side cooling plate 91 issimilar to the configuration of the left cooling plate 25L, and asillustrated in FIG. 12, the cooling path 71 is provided on the surfaceof the lower side cooling plate 91. The lower side cooling plate 91 isprovided so that the cooling path 71 is located on the top surface ofthe lower side cooling plate 91. The cooling path 71 is bent in a zigzagand provided so as to cool the whole surface of the lower side coolingplate 91.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 7A, the cooling path 71 may beinstalled on the surface of the lower side cooling plate 91 by theattachment tool 72, similar to the cooling path 71 of the left coolingplate 25L. The filler 73 that is used to increase a heat transfer rateis filled in a space that is surrounded by the surface of the lower sidecooling plate 91, the outer peripheral surface of the cooling path 71,the inner peripheral surface of the attachment tool 72. The cooling path71 and the attachment tool 72 are bent in a zigzag and provided so as tocool the whole surface of the lower side cooling plate 91.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 7B, the cooling path 71 may beprovided inside the lower side cooling plate 91. The cooling path 71 isbent in a zigzag and provided so as to cool the whole surface of thelower side cooling plate 91.

The lower side cooling plate 91 includes an area that includes allmovement ranges of the left lower arm 31L and the right lower arm 31R inthe planar view. The lower side cooling plate 91 is supported from belowby a supporting member 92 that is provided to project from the rearsurface of the bottom plate 41 of the pivot base 20.

Third Embodiment

In addition, in another embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 13, a pivotshaft cooling plate 95 is provided around the pivot shaft 3. It is notedthat the configuration of the carrier device 100 except for the pivotshaft cooling plate 95 is similar to the configuration of the carrierdevice 100 according to the first embodiment, and the description isomitted.

The pivot shaft cooling plate 95 is formed into a shape in which a longplate is rounded annularly. The pivot shaft cooling plate 95 is a memberhaving a color that is easy to absorb heat such as a black color. Theconfiguration of the pivot shaft cooling plate 95 is similar to theconfiguration of the left cooling plate 25L, and as illustrated in FIG.14, the cooling path 71 is provided on the surface of the pivot shaftcooling plate 95. The pivot shaft cooling plate 95 is provided so thatthe cooling path 71 is located on the inner surface of the pivot shaftcooling plate 95. The cooling path 71 is bent in a zigzag and providedso as to cool the whole inner surface of the pivot shaft cooling plate95. The pivot shaft cooling plate 95 is stuck outside the pivot shaft 3.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 7A, the cooling path 71 may beinstalled on the surface of the pivot shaft cooling plate 95 by theattachment tool 72, similar to the cooling path 71 of the left coolingplate 25L. The filler 73 that is used to increase a heat transfer rateis filled in a space that is surrounded by the surface of the pivotshaft cooling plate 95, the outer peripheral surface of the cooling path71, and the inner peripheral surface of the attachment tool 72. Thecooling path 71 and the attachment tool 72 are bent in a zigzag andprovided so as to cool the whole inner surface of the pivot shaftcooling plate 95.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 7B, the cooling path 71 may beprovided inside the pivot shaft cooling plate 95. The cooling path 71 isbent in a zigzag and provided so as to cool the whole surface of thepivot shaft cooling plate 95.

As described above, the carrier device 100 includes the linkage armmechanism 2 that is used to carry the work 200 in the vacuum space, andthe pivot shaft 3 that pivotally supports the linkage arm mechanism 2 sothat the linkage arm mechanism 2 can rotate around the vertical shaft,and the linkage arm mechanism 2 includes the lower arms 31L and 31R, theupper arms 33L and 33R the one ends of which are respectively connectedto the lower arms 31L and 31R, and the horizontal movement members 22Land 22R that support the work 200 that is connected to the other ends ofthe upper arms 33L and 33R, and the cooling plates 25L and 25R arerespectively provided between the upper arms 33L and 33R and thehorizontal movement members 22L and 22R, and in the carrier device 100,the reflective materials 81 and 81 are stuck on the surfaces of thecooling plates 25L and 25R on the side of the horizontal movementmembers 22L and 22R.

By such a configuration, when the work 200 is mounted on the topsurfaces of the horizontal movement members 22L and 22R, the upper arms33L and 33R can be cooled by the cooling plates 25L and 25R byrespectively providing the cooling plates 25L and 25R between the upperarms 33L and 33R of the linkage arm mechanism 2 and the works 200 and200 in the high temperature state. More specifically, the left upper arm33L can be cooled by the left cooling plate 25L by providing the leftcooling plate 25L between the bottom surface of the left upper arm 33Land the work 200 that is mounted on the left horizontal movement member22L. In addition, the right upper arm 33R can be cooled by the rightcooling plate 25R by providing the right cooling plate 25R between thetop surface of the third arm 53R of the right upper arm 33R and the work200 that is mounted on the right horizontal movement member 22R. Thus,the impact of the radiation heat from the work 200 in the hightemperature state can be reduced.

In addition, by such a configuration, the radiation heat from the work200 can be reflected by sticking the reflective material 81 on thesurface on the side in the vicinity of the work 200 in the hightemperature state. Thus, the impact of the radiation heat from the work200 in the high temperature state can be reduced.

In addition, in the carrier device 100, the lower side cooling plate 91is provided on the lower sides of the lower arms 31L and 31R.

By such as configuration, even when the radiation heat from the work 200in the high temperature state is reflected in the vacuum space andconveyed from the lower side of the linkage arm mechanism 2, the lowerarms 31L and 31R can be cooled by the cooling plate by providing thelower side cooling plate 91 on the lower sides of the lower arms 31L and31R of the linkage arm mechanism 2. Thus, the impact of the radiationheat from the work 200 in the high temperature state can be reduced.

In addition, in the carrier device 100, the pivot shaft cooling plate 95is wound around the pivot shaft 3.

By such a configuration, the pivot shaft 3 that pivotally supports thelinkage arm mechanism 2 can be cooled by the pivot shaft cooling plate95. Thus, the impact of the radiation heat from the work 200 in the hightemperature state can be reduced.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention can be applied to a carrier device that is used tocarry a substrate in a vacuum space.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERAL

-   2 Linkage arm mechanism-   3 Pivot shaft-   21L Left linkage arm-   21R Right linkage arm-   22L Left horizontal movement member-   22R Right horizontal movement member-   25L Left cooling plate-   25R Right cooling plate-   31L Left lower arm-   31R Right lower arm-   32L Left intermediate linkage-   32R Right intermediate linkage-   33L Left upper arm-   33R Right upper arm-   71 Cooling path-   81 Reflective material-   91 Lower side cooling plate-   95 Pivot shaft cooling plate

The invention claimed is:
 1. A carrier device comprising: a linkage armmechanism that is used to carry a work in a vacuum space; and a pivotshaft that pivotally supports the linkage arm mechanism so that thelinkage arm mechanism can rotate around a vertical shaft, wherein thelinkage arm mechanism comprises lower arms, upper arms one ends of whichare respectively connected to the lower arms, and horizontal movementmembers that support the work that is connected to the other ends of theupper arms, and cooling plates are respectively provided between theupper arms and the horizontal movement members, wherein a first coolingplate which is fixed so as to be rotated with the rotation of the pivotshaft is provided between the upper arms and the horizontal movementmembers, and separated from the upper arms and the horizontal movementmembers and, wherein the first cooling plate comprises a passing grooveso as to pass a connecting means between the upper arms and thehorizontal movement members when the linkage arm mechanism is moved. 2.The carrier device according to claim 1, wherein a second cooling plateis provided between the lower arms and the horizontal movement members,and separated from the lower arms and the horizontal movement members.3. The carrier device according to claim 2, wherein the second coolingplate is fixed so as to be rotated with the rotation of the pivot shaftand, wherein the first cooling plate is connected to the second coolingplate.